J.J. Abrams is hard to pin down as a filmmaker. For someone who’s made as many massive blockbuster films as he has, it’s still difficult to describe exactly what a “J.J Abrams” movie is. And yet, he’s put his stamp on some of the most iconic franchises in history and has solidified himself as a household name.

His time in the spotlight began with a focus on storytelling, as he created, showran, and directed the TV series Felicity and Alias. But it was Lost, a show he co-created, that really put him on the map as the two-hour pilot that he directed still stands today as one of the best, most cinematic pilots in history. He obviously then went on to try his hand at franchise filmmaking, always imbuing each film with a sense of joy and wonderment. Indeed, his films even have a bit of a subversive streak – his take on Mission: Impossible, an action franchise, was to turn it into a relationship story; and say what you will about The Force Awakens, but Abrams and Co. made a conscious decision for their two main heroes to be a young woman and a Black man.

And while Abrams has only made six films thus far, the fact remains that he’s one of the most powerful and influential directors in Hollywood – in 2019 he signed a deal worth $250 million to develop, produce, and direct projects for WarnerMedia through his Bad Robot Productions company. So with all eyes on what Abrams might do next now that Star Wars is in his rearview, it felt like as good a time as any to revisit his filmography and try and suss out some common themes throughout his work.

Behold, every J.J. Abrams movie ranked.

6.) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

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Image via Lucasfilm

There’s so much wrong with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, it’s hard to know where to begin. Granted, Abrams had an extremely short window of time in which to write, make, and release this movie (Disney should’ve pushed the release date a year), but as a filmmaker he’s always had a bit of trouble with endings. Even without getting into the nitty gritty of Rise of Skywalker's problems, narratively it’s just a mess, full of stops and starts that destroy all sense of pacing. And the film undercuts every bit of genuine emotion it flirts with – I felt a deep sadness when Chewbacca died, a true and necessary loss within the film. But literally less than 5 minutes later, the movie feels the need to tell you that actually he’s OK and everything is fine. A genuinely surprising and necessary loss for Rey’s arc quickly becomes a fake-out, and the film loses all trust. Nothing matters because the film makes clear it’s not going to be doing anything ambitious or risky with its lead characters. This will go the way you think.

Rise of Skywalker is a movie full of “and then what if this happened?” moments, which for a conclusion to the entire Skywalker Saga don’t add up to much. Rewatching this film is like going to the dentist. You sit down thinking, “Maybe this won’t be so bad,” and then somehow it’s even longer and more painful than you remembered. Rey’s arc is a mess, the film flails around trying to give Finn something to do, and even sad boi Kylo Ren’s redemption arc comes up short. Too little, too late.

The decision to bring back Palpatine is at the root of Rise of Skywalker’s problems. What should have been the story of the battle for Kylo Ren’s soul becomes a convoluted sequel to Return of the Jedi, and what the conclusion to Rey, Ben, Finn, and Poe’s story absolutely does not need is more new characters and mythology to address. And no, you can’t blame The Last Jedi. That film picked up the pieces of The Force Awakens and made something new out of them. With Rise of Skywalker, Abrams was trying to retrofit the characters’ journeys from TLJ into something more in line with his original ideas from TFA instead of picking up from where TLJ left off. It’s a mess, and it’s not just Abrams’ worst movie, it’s the worst Star Wars movie ever made.

5.) Star Trek Into Darkness

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Image via Paramount Pictures

Star Trek Into Darkness is both better and worse than you remember. Honestly, the first hour or so of this sequel is actually not bad. It appears as though Abrams and Co. will be digging into themes of death, as Spock’s (Zachary Quinto) almost-sacrifice kicks off the proceedings as Kirk (Chris Pine) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) are then forced to explain to Spock why him dying would affect them as well. Spock gets to sense what it feels like to die when he touches Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), and of course the entire film is building towards the death (and resurrection) of Kirk. If this had been the story of Star Trek Into Darkness, perhaps it could have been salvaged. Maybe even emotionally compelling. Alas, enter Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch).

The whole Khan reveal means absolutely nothing, because Kirk and Spock don’t know who Khan is, and the revelation of his true identity serves only to make the audience go, “Ah yes, I understand that reference.” It brings nothing of substance to the story at hand, which eventually gets bogged down in some false flag conspiracy theory hooey that really doesn’t sit well with Trek.

It’s frustrating because again, the first act or so of the film is pretty engaging, and Abrams and cinematographer Dan Mindel even up their game visually from the first movie. But it all slowly starts to unravel until it becomes, frankly, a mess. Khan is dull and uninteresting, the villain plot is a way too heavy handed “commentary” on the War on Terror, and even the addition of Alice Eve to the ensemble gets completely fumbled – she’s nothing more than an object for the male characters to use or disuse for motivational reasons. The only part of Star Trek Into Darkness that is consistent and good is Michael Giacchino’s score.

4.) Super 8

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Image via Paramount Pictures

Super 8 is Abrams’ most frustrating film, because you can tell there’s a great movie in there trying to get out. The story is actually two ideas that were mashed together – Abrams had the idea to make a movie about kids in the 1970s making their own film, but then decided to combine it with an idea for an alien invasion blockbuster to make his previous idea more palatable to general audiences. Which, again, is frustrating, because for the most part the stuff with the kids is the best thing about the film. Abrams’ mystery box mentality works both for and against him here, as all the questions that arise in the first half of the movie are compelling – what was in the train? Why did the teacher try to stop it? Why is the military involved? But when the movie devolves into an E.T. ripoff in its latter half, the tension kind of falls away and Abrams’ themes get increasingly muddled.

Super 8 begins as a story about grief. Joe (Joel Courtney) and his father (Kyle Chandler) are not coping well with the death of Joe’s mother, and there’s plenty of blame to be thrown around the town. But using the alien monster – you know, the one shown violently murdering innocent citizens – as a “grief monster” or stand-in for Joe’s mother comes off as icky instead of emotional. You’re supposed to empathize with the alien, but Abrams goes too far in making the alien an absolute destructive menace. It’s hard to feel bad for the creature who was hoarding humans in his cave so it could eat them alive.

The chemistry with all the kids is great, and Elle Fanning gives a terrific performance as the film’s MVP, but the movie really goes off the rails in its second half and never fully recovers. There are plenty of nice moments scattered within and lots of interesting ideas, but Abrams is unable to distill them all into a cohesive piece. Super 8 remains Abrams’ only original film, and that’s a shame because it feels like a first draft. I’d love to see him take another stab at an original story, this time trusting his gut.

3.) Mission: Impossible III

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Image via Paramount Pictures

Abrams’ feature directorial debut is kind of an extension of his television work, but in hindsight he was key to expanding the reach of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Indeed, many claim Mission: Impossible III is just a long episode of Alias, and Abrams’ camerawork remains extremely close on the faces as is prevalent in television, but what he lacks in cinematic panache in this first movie he makes up for with spunk and a vision for evolving the Mission franchise. It’s Mission: Impossible III that turned this into a fully fledged “team” franchise after the largely Tom Cruise-focused M:I 2, and Abrams’ decision to hone in on Ethan Hunt’s interior life is an inspired one – we haven’t gotten this emotionally close to Ethan in the franchise since.

The filmmaker’s flair for character relationships is on full display here, as folks like Simon Pegg and Billy Crudup and of course Michelle Monaghan do a lot with relatively little screentime, but the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman is the MVP. The most menacing villain the Mission franchise has ever seen, and the film serves as a tragic reminder of his phenomenal talent as a performer.

As a whole, Mission: Impossible III is fun, but too often feels like a pale Tony Scott imitation. The sweaty cinematography from Dan Mindel would cool off in Abrams' later films, but here it’s laid on a bit too thick, and again Abrams’ decision to keep the camera so close on the performers makes some of the action fall a bit flat. But he certainly proves capable, and the film’s most effective set piece is its contained finale in which Ethan Hunt is fending off baddies while suffering through a terrible headache, and then Monaghan is forced to fight after shocking Ethan to death. That set piece is classic Abrams – a stressful situation in which the characters are thrown curveball after curveball, all captured with a glint of humor to keep things joyous without letting the tension out of the balloon. That’s M:I 3 – it’s not a great movie, but it’s a ton of fun.

2.) Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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Image via Lucasfilm

Knowing the production troubles, accelerated schedule, and immense pressure surrounding Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s a miracle the movie is as good as it is. It’s far from perfect, mind you – narratively it’s not incredibly tight and it feels too familiar to the beats of A New Hope – but it gets the important stuff right: the characters. Rey is a complicated, incredibly charming new hero that Daisy Ridley brings to life with a mix of awe and spunk; Finn is a refreshing change of pace for the entire Star Wars universe, as John Boyega breathes life into a man with no name; and Adam Driver is jaw-droppingly good as pretty-boy-turned-petulant-son Kylo Ren, imbuing the character with enough nuance to solidify him as the best Star Wars villain of all time.

The filmmaking is top notch as well. This is perhaps Abrams and cinematographer Dan Mindel’s best collaboration, bringing a vitality and color to the Star Wars universe while maintain some semblance of groundedness. He’s come a long way from the shaky-cam closeups of M:I 3, but The Force Awakens also feels visually distinct from George Lucas’ films. It was the most aesthetically dynamic Star Wars movie since Empire Strikes Back.

It is abundantly clear throughout The Force Awakens just how much Abrams loves Star Wars. That’s both the film’s greatest and worst aspect, but again it works where it counts, and in bringing the story of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to a conclusion, Abrams gets that moment exactly right. The entire film is filled to the brim with joy and wonderment while also providing an undercurrent of tragedy in the form of the Kylo Ren arc. It’s a brilliant starting point, and throughout Abrams’ career it’s abundantly clear he’s great at beginnings. He relishes in asking questions and forming the foundation of characters who will live on in the minds of audiences for years to come, and return for journeys crafted by other filmmakers. Whatever you think of the rest of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, it’s hard to deny The Force Awakens successfully got the series off on the right foot. Delightful, spunky, and quite frankly, kind of magical.

1.) Star Trek

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Image via Paramount Pictures

Abrams’ best film is held together with spit and duct tape, and wasn’t without its challenges during production and post-production, but man is Star Trek great. The 2009 reboot succeeds by boldly going where no Trek movie had gone before – setting up an alternate timeline via a time travel narrative device that removes inevitability from the proceedings. This immediately tells the audience, “If you’re expecting this to play out like a prequel to the other films and shows, you’re wrong.” It’s also a brilliant example of pitch-perfect casting – Chris Pine is charismatic and cocksure, Zachary Quinto is perfect as Spock, Zoe Saldana brings an intensity and complexity to Uhura, and Simon Pegg is an absolute delight as Scotty. This movie is, first and foremost, fun, and that joyous quality runs all the way through the story.

But it’s also not without emotional stakes. The film grabs you by the heartstrings from the get-go with a 10-minute performance from Chris Hemsworth that turned him into a star, and the way Abrams handles the destruction of Spock’s planet and the loss of his mother is genuinely moving.

Again, the film’s making was not without its challenges. Abrams famously cut a significant portion of the villain’s storyline, and figuring out exactly how to arrange the origin stories of Kirk and Spock was a process of trial and error. This is a recurring theme throughout Abrams’ career – the fly-by-your-seat approach to constructing these films either works tremendously well or turns out disastrous. The key to his films that succeed, I think, is in the building materials. If the correct pieces are there, Abrams and his team usually find the correct way to lay them all out in entertaining fashion. Star Trek is his most successful film when it comes to the pieces (cast, story) and their construction (filmmaking and editing).

For more of our director filmography rankings, check out our pieces on the films of Bong Joon-hoJames Wan, and Christopher Nolan.